After some discussion, it was time for Ash to engage in a Pokémon battle with Granny Agatha! He wanted to see how far he had come compared to the Elite Four!
"Oh dear, I really can't stand you youngsters! We've just met, and you want to have a Pokémon battle already? Is this the fiery passion of a Pokémon Trainer? Now you've got me all fired up too!"
Scott served as the referee for the battle between Agatha and Ash!
"Let's go, Pikachu!"
"Pika Pika!"
Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder and dashed straight into the battleground.
"Ah, so your partner is this Pikachu. It looks quite impressive," Agatha remarked, her sharp eyes immediately recognizing Pikachu's potential.
"Then it's decided—Gengar, you're up!"
"Geng~~"
A purple-black Pokémon appeared, Agatha's Gengar, one of her absolute powerhouses!
Meanwhile, Ash activated his Eye of Insight.
[Pokémon]: Gengar
[Category]: Shadow Pokémon
[Type]: Ghost, Poison
[Ability]: Curse Body
[Qualification]: Blue
[Level]: 70
[Moves]: Dark Mist, Lick, Smokescreen, Confuse Ray, Sludge Bomb, Will-O-Wisp, Shadow Clone, Shadow Ball, Hypnosis, Dream Eater...
"No wonder it has such high endurance in the original story; it's level 70…," Ash muttered to himself.
But now, things were different! He'd have to find out how level 70 fared against Pikachu!
"Ash, you can go first," Agatha said generously, waving her hand. Ash didn't hesitate; after all, he was facing an Elite Four member!
"Pikachu, use Agility and get close to Gengar!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu's speed was always impressive, no matter the situation.
"That Pikachu has indeed been well trained. It seems this will be an interesting battle. Gengar, use Shadow Clone!"
Agatha remained calm as Gengar split into several shadowy copies.
"Pikachu, maintain Agility and use Electro Ball to attack all the shadow copies of Gengar!"
"Pika~~chu!"
Pikachu continued to move at high speed, releasing a flurry of electric sparks that wiped out Gengar's shadow copies until only one remained.
At the same time, Pikachu's speed increased due to Agility!
A smile crept across Ash's face as he prepared for the next move. Boosting speed was to set up for his upcoming Quick Attack. "Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
Furthermore, Ash used his Aura to communicate his intentions to Pikachu, ready to use Iron Tail at any moment!
Quick Attack? That's just a Normal-type move; it won't affect a Ghost-type like Gengar!
"Ash, you shouldn't make such a mistake! Gengar, no matter what your opponent is planning, let's keep going! After Pikachu passes through your body, use Shadow Ball!"
Agatha remained unfazed and instructed Gengar to prepare for the move.
Sure enough, when Pikachu executed Quick Attack and darted forward, it passed straight through Gengar's body.
At that moment, Gengar gathered energy to form a Shadow Ball and hurled it at Pikachu.
"Pikachu, now's the time! Use Iron Tail to break through the Shadow Ball and go for it!"
Ash had been waiting for this moment!
"What?"
Agatha was momentarily taken aback.
Pikachu's Iron Tail smashed through the Shadow Ball and struck Gengar directly, sending it flying!
"Now, follow up with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!"
Without hesitation, Pikachu unleashed a Thunderbolt, hitting Gengar again.
"You've got some skill, Ash, but how will you handle this? Gengar, use Lick!"
Gengar's thick, red tongue lashed out, catching Pikachu in its grasp.
Ash smirked.
Lick required Gengar to get close to Pikachu, and once it did, Pikachu wouldn't just sit back and take it!
"Thunder at point-blank range!"
"Ah, I see! Gengar, endure the Thunder and use Hypnosis!"
Agatha realized Ash's plan, but it was too late; she could only instruct Gengar to endure Pikachu's Thunder.
"Pika~chu!"
The fierce Thunder illuminated the battleground with dazzling electricity.
Gengar took the brunt of the powerful move, but being a level 70 Pokémon, it had reached the champion threshold. Eventually, Pikachu fell victim to Gengar's Hypnosis and Dream Eater combination.
However, thanks to an initial system reward, Pikachu leveled up five times, so it didn't lose its fighting capability like it had in the original storyline. But it was still pretty hurt.
"Alright, this battle is over."
Agatha raised her hand to signal the end of the match.
Though she was quite elderly, Gengar's level had indeed reached the champion threshold, outclassing Pikachu by 15 levels.
Even so, in this battle, Ash managed to make Gengar take three major hits from Pikachu's attacks, which showed his improvement.
"Ding! Congratulations, host! Pikachu successfully battled Gengar and earned 4000 battle experience points!"
The system's voice echoed in Ash's mind once again.
So this is how one gains battle experience?
But it still wasn't as much as the experience from defeating Ponyta; that must be because he didn't win this battle!
(T/N: Qualification only affects leveling speed and skill mastery speed, not anything else! Just to clarify!
From lowest to highest: White, Green, Red, Blue, Purple, Gold, Black!
Purple is generally considered the qualification of Legendary Pokémon!)
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T/N:
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